County to revisit data center NDA policies, environmental reviews
Pima County is revisiting its non-disclosure agreement (NDA) policies and environmental review triggers for economic development projects, specifically influenced by recent data center proposals. The county is also considering a 120-day moratorium on all data center development activity, with supervisors having voted to draft the language for it. The Pima County Board of Health has advised the supervisors to adopt this moratorium.
Pima County is scheduled to revise two policies governing future economic development projects, prompted by the recent Project Blue data center development and news of another data center in talks in Sahuarita. One policy involves non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), with Supervisor Jen Allen advocating to expand new, shorter NDA criteria to existing agreements, although this is unlikely to be legally binding for companies already in talks. Allen's motivation stems from a surge in data center tax exemption applications before a statewide three-year moratorium, enacted by Governor Katie Hobbs, went into effect.
The second policy concerns environmental reviews. Supervisor Allen seeks to broaden the events that trigger a more thorough environmental review beyond just NDA signings or developer interest, suggesting that projects can bypass current business recruitment channels. Concurrently, a potential 120-day moratorium on all data center development in Pima County is in the pipeline, allowing the county to finalize code amendment changes. Supervisors voted 3-2 to draft this moratorium language, with Supervisors Rex Scott and Steve Christy opposing based on legal counsel. Furthermore, the Pima County Board of Health unanimously advised the supervisors to adopt the 120-day moratorium, citing concerns about preventing "irrevocable public harm" and referencing a Health Department review that linked data center environmental impacts to existing cardiovascular and respiratory vulnerabilities in the county.